Sweden grants temporary asylum to 106-year-old Afghan woman

By The Associated Press

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

STOCKHOLM >> A 106-year-old Afghan woman who made a perilous journey to Europe in 2015 that involved her son and grandson carrying her through mountains, deserts and forests has finally been granted temporary shelter in the Scandinavian country.

The Migration Court of Appeal said Wednesday it has reversed a decision by Swedish Migration Agency to deport Bibihal Uzbeki who is severely disabled and can barely speak.

The court said she was in “a very bad state of health (which) may deteriorate drastically,” adding that an expulsion “could be considered inhuman and degrading treatment.”

It conceded that “particular consideration” had been given to “the extremely high age of the woman” and “her very bad state of health.” That countered the agency’s view that age doesn’t by itself provide grounds for asylum.

Her grandson Mohammed Uzbeki said the ruling meant she was given “a time-limited residence permit for 13 months” which ends July 19, 2019.

“She is really sick,” her grandson told the AP.

Uzbeki’s journey through Europe made headlines in 2015, when they were part of a huge influx of people who came from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries, through the Balkans before finally reaching Sweden.